Malakai Black has filled basically every possible role one could have in professional wrestling. He's been a main eventer, he's been a heater, he's been a tag team and even trios specialist, and during his brief time on the WWE main roster, he experienced what it was like to be stuck in the mid-card having to play a bit part in Seth Rollins‘ “Monday Night Messiah” storyline that blossomed out to feature Buddy Matthews-then-Murphy, Rey Mysterio, and even a young Dominik Mysterio before he became the hottest heel in the entire company.

Suffering an eye injury that has stuck with him to this very day despite switching employers from WWE to AEW, Black saw his main roster run impacted considerably following his run-in with Rollins, leading to an extended absence following the 2020 WWE Draft that effectively never ended, as he was released from his contract in June of 2021 before he could wrestle an official match on SmackDown.

Would it be understandable if Black held some resentment for Rollins for playing a part in dashing his WWE run? Maybe a little bit, but in reality, things couldn't be further from the truth; in the opinion of Black, Rollins has actually been the MVP of WWE from the pandemic era and beyond, as he explained to Bobby Fish on his Undisputed podcast.

“I think that a lot of people don’t understand how much of an MVP he has been. I learned a ton from working with Seth, when we were in the pandemic era, and even before that right before we shut down and stuff. The conversations I would have with him and the advice that he would give me and his perspective on the way he does his promos, the way he puts it in his head, and how comes up with stuff … every week he would give me questions like, ‘I want you to answer these,’ and I’d have to sit down and think about it and I don’t think people realize how incredibly good this dude and how consistent of a wrestler he’s been for decades,” Malakai Black said via PW Mania.

“He’s the man. When it comes to Seth, not only is his in-ring phenomenal, his mic skills are great, his mindset is great, his consistency … to be consistently in the spotlight, consistently on that upper tier.”

Now locked in as the first-ever WWE World Heavyweight Champion, at least of this current lineage, Rollins has taken it upon himself to become a workhouse champion, proving that, whether he's working a wacky gimmick like he used with Black or he's taking things a little more seriously, few performers are as committed to the bit as the “Visionary.”

Malakai Black names the most overlooked performer in wrestling today.

Discussing his time working with Seth Rollins further and the fallout from the “Monday Night Messiah” angle, Malakai Black wanted to give specific praise to one of his House members, Buddy Matthews, whom he believes is one of the best performers in the world today, even if fans often overlook his individual efforts because he's part of a dominant faction.

“I don’t think people appreciate how good Buddy is. Buddy has always been seen as a guy that makes others look good. But you [Bobby Fish] and I both know that it takes two to tango … Just because he has so much body control for a guy the size of him, he makes everything look fantastic,” Black said via TJR.

“When it comes to the sheer ability and athleticism, I think Buddy Matthews is one of the best in this current era. And not because we’re in a group, not because he’s one of my best friends, but just from a pro wrestling standpoint from being in the ring with him.

“Him and me have a lot of very similar philosophies in wrestling … We’ll butt heads, but all, for the most part, we have a very same idea on selling, we have a very same idea on psychology, we have a very same idea of how to implement what. Very detailed. I genuinely think that people need to realize how damn good he is. He’s really, really something unique.”

Often boiled down to the butt of jokes, like his in-ring similarities to Kenny Omega or for being the real-life boyfriend of Dom Dom's Mami, Rhea Ripley, Matthews is one of the more electric performers you will ever see in a professional wrestling ring, with an ability to combine speed, strength, and athleticism to a degree few other performers can match. If he's ever afforded a chance to step out into the spotlight himself, don't be surprised if Matthews shines like his mentors, Black and Rollins.